Mobile Security Guide 2020: The Smart Approach to Mobile Security
Using mobile platforms for smoother operations has become the norm in most companies. Many companies have designed their own apps that make it a lot more convenient to stay in touch with the consumers and gain profit.
But how can we protect our applications and digital communication portals safe? The hackers are getting smarter. With the passing time, they are coming up with ways to infiltrate your valuable data and find ways to bypass the latest preventive measures you might have taken to protect your business.
First, let’s take a look at the current status of mobile security:
Trend Micro Incorporated did a cybersecurity risk study. Titled The New Norm: Trend Micro Security Predictions for 2020. Let’s go through some of the main points of this study.
Third-party Software
APIs and open-source libraries were designed to make app creation for mobiles simple and easy. Throw cloud technology in the mix, and you have the perfect recipe for ease and efficiency. But according to experts, hackers are going to put all their focus into the careless use of open-source tools. Most of the attacks took place due to the same reason recently, and the frequency is going to increase.
Companies need to take a second look at their protective strategy against cyber crooks.
Increase on threats because of DevOps and Cloud system
There is no denying that cloud storage and DevOps have given users a lot of ease. They play a key role in boosting business efficiency. But at the same time, they the tendency of placing companies at risk of third-parties. Experts predict that the situation is going to escalate this year.
The threat of Remote Workers
Experts have predicted a relatively new type of risk to emerge this year. It deals with the remote workforce of a company and how their use of public Wi-FIs could be a potential threat to the security of business’ confidential information. One way to control that could be the use of efficient employee monitoring systems apps, including Xnspy, which lets you be in the know. Installing it on your employees’ phone could get you details about the messages, calls, emails, and a lot more.
Since chances of vulnerabilities are higher in connected devices, they can act as an entrance to the corporate system. However, you can control it by having a close watch on your employee’s phone activities using Xnspy, an app with plenty of smart features. You can know about all the digital activities and ensure that your data is safe and the employee is not involved in suspicious activities. And for Android, the app comes with a Wi-Fi log system that lets you access the Wi-Fi logs that let you see when and where the phone connected. Also, with GPS location tracking and geofencing, you can set alerts to see if the workers are timely reporting on duty. Experts insist on taking the right measures for employee monitoring.
Business Data via code injection attacks
Hackers are going to use SQL injections and cross-site scripting targeting cloud service providers and third-party libraries.
Read on more to find about the top mobile security trends and what should businesses that are dependent on mobile technologies anticipate from this year.
Mobile Security Trends 2020
Safety of Sensitive Data
Data has grown tremendously due to business digitalization. Cloud systems are used to store all kinds of data, be it corporate, financial, and personal data. Experts reveal that even this year, one could expect to witness substantial data leaks. The protection of sensitive data is crucial in mobile security.
One of the key solutions for database protection is masking and encrypting sensitive information. But for data thieves, data theft is their cash crop. They keep coming up with new tricks and techniques to penetrate cloud systems. The motives behind database and mobile hacks are data theft for resale purpose, hidden mining, illegal fund receipts, and industrial espionage, to name a few. A probable successful solution could be to consolidate various databases on a single server. This would help in making the management approach easy and using resources efficiently.
Protection against Phishing
Undoubtedly, phishing is one of the most damaging cyber threats. With the main objective to gain access to sensitive information (credit card numbers, login, and passwords), phishing is dangerous. A new study found that last year, the phishing cases increased a great deal with a fake source appearing every 15–20 seconds.
- With phishing outside an email, hackers are going to attack via the mobile environment, and businesses aren’t prepared yet. Companies are still finding ways to protect themselves from phishing attacks.
- Another threat is the SIM jacking. This means that the scammer would activate the SIM card on his name. He contacts the mobile operator of a person and convinces them the SIM card has been hacked to transfer the phone number to another one. This way, they can get complete access to someone’s digital life.
- Attackers can use brands for phishing attacks. They use the name of renowned brands such as Apple, Facebook, or Google and get the trust of people since they don’t object to receiving texts from these names.
- Also, chances are that hackers are going to use real information events to initiate attacks. A well- known example is that of the 2020 Summer Olympics that is to take place in Tokyo this year. The attacker has been sending out emails that are designed to look authentic, containing sales applications for fake tickets. Sometimes, even the smartest of preventive measures seem to lag. Users have to be vigilant at all times.
- Scammers are also using different encryption techniques to carry on phishing attacks. They are inventing new ways of phishing attacks.
Combating the increase in mobile malware
The epidemic of mobile malware is growing at an alarming rate, and in 2020, protecting mobile apps from them is one of the top priorities. Counterpoint Technology Market Research found that cybercriminals are going to spread malware through remote access protocols. Some are even going to create and promote malware and provide ready-made malware to others who are not skilled in programming.
Security Operation Center (SoC) Approach
The task of detecting and then correctly removing and responding to the various threats is very important. So, experts predict that the mobile security trends associated with the SoC creation are going to jump this year. The three main components of SoC are:
· Hiring staff to secure information
· Booking and taking up protection technologies for business
· Coming up with modern security procedures and policies that help in formulating clear processes to prevent attacks and respond to them.
Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)
Experts suggest that more companies, both medium and large-sized, are going to adopt MSSP. They are the provider of commercial information security services. MSSP helps in reducing costs, allows the business to fully focus on the business objectives, and boost the level of information protection.
But, there is a risk. With attackers getting intelligent, they can also use MSSP as a portal for compromising businesses. This would allow cybercriminals to get away with valuable data and spread malware.
Mobile Device Management
As said earlier, a large chunk of businesses is actively using mobile devices to streamline the business processes. This has led to important steps for mobile app protection. Mobile device management lets you:
· Implement corporate security policies for user devices (like requiring password protection on phone to use a certain service)
· Creating a folder/container having confidential information on every employee’s device.
· Using safe methods to embed mobile device use in a corporate setup.
Identity Management (IDM)
When it comes to business systems, the most effective mobile security methods require intelligent device identification and multi-factor authentication. Nowadays, the authentication model is no longer focused on the user. It is more like a machine component, and IDM seems to be benefitting from it a great deal.
· Companies are adopting IDM systems for:
· Eliminating human errors
· Simplifying business systems management
· Withdrawing unnecessary access to information from a user who is no long authorized ( fired, transferred to another department)
Biometric User Identification
This method has been around for a long time now, and its benefits are obvious. But it is expected to grow this year with the formation of a universal biometric system. The system is expected to simplify user interaction of users with financial institutions by quickening the processing time of transactions.
Biometric identification hails as reliable if the financial company is successful in providing secure reception, storage, and transfer of this data.
Applying Machine Learning for security
Many security vendors have adopted machine learning-based protection. And the trend would continue to remain relevant this year so the business can become more flexible and build techniques to identify threats.
With the help of machine learning-based protection, one can monitor activities to find malware, process, and analyze data along with predicting possible cyber-attacks and threats. But it comes with risks. Hackers have also found a way to benefit from machine learning solutions. They use these systems to create phishing systems and develop such malware that goes undetected by the signature methods.
Companies need to buckle up for such challenges.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is all about making people aware and spreading information regarding mobile security. Employers need to educate their employees. Many a time, a person ends up giving up all the necessary information to cyber-spies, which could have terrible consequences if the person works in a well-known enterprise.
Companies must take measures to constantly upgrade their knowledge and create awareness regarding security threats.
